This invention relates to a novel fishing bait dispensing method and apparatus. More specifically, this invention relates to a fishing bait confinement and dispensing method and apparatus operable to store and facily dispense on site live crickets, grasshoppers, and the like.
In the fishing industry, crickets, grasshoppers and other insects are successfully used as bait. It is desirable to securely thread the bait onto a fishing hook while keeping the bait alive and intact and thus more lifelike to fish. Difficulties have been encountered in the past in storing, handling and impaling live bait on a fishing hook because handling a fishing rod and simultaneously attempting to catch bait within a container and then thread the bait onto a hook can be a cumbersome task.
Previously, anglers stored a hundred or so live insects in an open mesh pail or likewise ventilated cage. When it was time to bait a hook, the top of the container would be opened and the angler would insert his hand to catch a single insect and manually threaded the insect onto a fishing hook. However, the lively behavior of a cricket or grasshopper, when placed in a conventional bait box, made capture and threading of the cricket on a hook difficult. Moreover, the live bait had to be stored in a closed box to prevent escape and, upon opening the box, it was not unusual for some of the bait to hop out or climb away from the box before a cricket could be captured.
Problems of the above nature were remedied by constructing bait containers which included a dispensing valve to limit passage of bait from the container to a single insect. However, the insect was oftentimes crushed or otherwise damaged by the angler when he attempted to thread the bait onto the hook, and thus reliable impalement remained a problematic procedure.
In the more recent past, fishing bait containers made it unnecessary for an angler to physically contact the bait during impalement. These containers usually included an outlet and an adjacent gripping element which could be independently manipulated to grip the bait for impalement on a hook. However, such containers with bait grippers were not always convenient to operate because the angler had to manually position the bait adjacent to the gripping element and then manipulate the gripping element to clutch the bait. Manipulation of this gripping element in concert with controlling and handling a fishing rod, a fishing hook, and the bait container itself remained difficult. One recent device of thus type included a generally cylindrical chamber that included a flap gate to limit movement of a cricket. Even in this device, however, movement of a live cricket was possible. Moreover the flap gate was not always reliable and in many instances a cricket would not readily pass beyond the gate.
Another problem associated with previously known bait dispensing containers concerned the method of immobilizating bait in a posture appropriate for impalement. Anglers were forced to rely upon the natural instincts of the insects to crawl towards light the filtering in through the outlet of the container to initially position themselves for impalement. If the insect did not position itself, the angler inverted the dispensing container to position the insects in the outlet via the force of gravity. The time associated with utilization of these bait containers was not satisfactory. Further, once the bait was in position for impalement, the angler sometimes misthreaded or insecurely fastened the bait onto the fishing hook.
The difficulties suggested in the preceding are not intended to be exhaustive but rather are among many which may tend to reduce the effectiveness and user satisfaction associated with prior bait dispensing methods and containers. Other noteworthy problems may also exist; however, those presented above should be sufficient to demonstrate that bait dispensers appearing in the past will admit to worthwhile improvement.